


you can try again tomorrow

by deviantcon



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Appa, Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, aang - Freeform, self harm aang
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:54:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24586450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deviantcon/pseuds/deviantcon
Summary: aang has the weight of the world on his shoulders. he's only a kid, he can't do everything perfectly every time. aang feel all alone, i mean why wouldn't he? his enemy is now on his team, his friends hate him for allowing this, and he can't truly talk to anyone. lucky for him zuko sleeps with one eye open.
Relationships: Aang & Appa (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Aang/Sokka (Avatar), Aang/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 63





	you can try again tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for not posting in a while, i haven't felt like writing in a long time.  
> as always, thanks for sticking around.  
> trigger warning.  
> lowercase intended.  
> ~ con

he went from sleeping through the night to waking up a few times and then to just not sleeping.  
things got hard for him after zuko joined. katara was angry at aang for allowing a trader on the team, and sukko was angry because katara was angry. what was aang supposed to do? he hasn't even mastered ONE element yet, he needed zuko to at least teach him fire. there was no one else who could help him. 

nights like these where everyone's asleep and the world seems to be still are harder. there are no distractions and no one to stop him from hurting himself, even appa was asleep tonight.  
aang started hurting himself a few months ago after he and katara had a silly fight that was resolved the next day. he hated knowing he stooped this low but loved the marks and the burning sensation from it. 

he walked down to the water from the mountain the gang was sleeping on, he had to be alone to do this. typically he couldn't grab a knife since katara kept it in her bag, so he'd use the fire jeong jeong had taught him. it wasn't much, but it was enough for him. the marks on his arms were well hidden by his usual outfit, and since katara's been angry at him he hasn't practiced with her so he hasn't had a reason to undress. 

aang sat down on a rock near the water, and bringing his sleeve up he drew fire from his other hand and placed it at his arm.

~ Zuko's POV ~

being taught to sleep with one eye open means zuko wakes at any sound, no matter how quiet. it was no surprise he woke up to aang walking, he always does. sometimes he'll ignore it, other times he'll sit up to grab some water or to stretch. this time he decided on going on a brisk walk to stretch, sleeping on the ground with nothing but a sleeping bag will do terrible things to your back. zuko never follows aang unless he thinks there's trouble. tonight was no different as zuko just minded his own business to walk higher up the mountain. as he goes up he notices a small fire, not yet worrying because perhaps aang got cold? maybe he needed to see so he wouldn't trip? who knows. not his business. 

once zuko took a closer took he noticed the avatar wasn't just using it for something he expected, instead, he puts it at his arm. 'what could this idiot be doing? burning himself? he wouldn't. why would the avatar do this? happy, carefree aang?.' zuko was trying to figure it out. 'what the HELL?' aang had lowered his hand to his arm, the fire still drawn, and placed it down. zuko panicked. he was practically sprinting down the mountain to him but attempting not to scare him.

~ Aang's POV ~

'fuck. fuck this.' placing the fire to his arm he felt the burning, pulsing sensation he longed for. the feeling that made him feel like he could go another day not showing the pain he's in.  
'what the hell?' aang thinks to himself as he hears footsteps, 'where could it be coming from, surely nobodies awake right now?', there's no way anyones awake. it's long before sunrise but long after sunset, nobody wakes up at this time. he just needs to do this so he can sleep, there's nothing wrong about this or with him. 

"AANG? STOP!" zuko was shouting, what the fuck is he doing? why the hell would he be burning himself, purposely drawing blood from his arms. "zuko? what the hell? why are you awake! go away!" aang was about to reach zuko's volume, pissed he was found he put out the flame and pulled his sleeve down. "what do you want? it's too early to teach me." aang said attempting to change the subject, 'just throw him off his rhythm' he thought. zuko stared at aang in disbelief, "what the fuck was that? why are you BURNING yourself? you're bleeding aang! show me your arm!" he shouted, not caring if he woke the others. "what? i'm sure it was a trick of the light. why would i do that?" he said lightly laughing which confused zuko, why is he lying about this?

"i- i'm- i'm not doing anything zuko! you wouldn't understand! you're not expected to save the whole world! just... let me have this. you scream when you're mad and i do this. just... stay away." aang attempted to walk away after saying this, jumping off the rock and trying to push past zuko. "absolutely not. we're talking about this aang, you can't just burn yourself and expect me to let it go. you're hurting yourself. screaming isn't self-destructive, this is. there's a huge difference! you're a kid! i can't just let you keep doing this!" zuko was near tears, he wants aang to confide in him, he knows the kid needs someone. 

"zuko have you ever been so upset you hit something? it's... it's like that but to myself? it makes me feel like i'm present still, not just floating away." "aang... this isn't the way to handle that. talk to me! talk to anyone! don't do THIS. nothing and i'll say it again, nothing is worth hurting yourself over. please don't do this, i knew the knife in kataras bag would go missing, just didn't know you took it. don't lie, i saw your arm once i got down here, i don't want to hear any excuse." zuko was wasting no time telling aang this wasn't a way to handle anything. he couldn't do this to himself and zuko won't let aang do this again, he'll have to tell the others in the morning.

aang remained silent, he had nothing really to say, he needed time to process this. zuko couldn't stop him from doing this. he won't let him.

"alright then, i'm taking you up the mountain back to camp, you're going to sleep, and we're telling the others in the morning. since you won't talk to me there's no other option." zuko's tune left no room for argument so aang just let himself be led up the mountain by the older teen.

**Author's Note:**

> god this is horrible, its a quarter past three in the morning and i just felt like writing. i might end up taking this down but i have no clue.  
> goodnight everyone, thanks for reading.  
> stay hydrated.  
> (edit) i completely hate this lmao i'm so sorry dkfbkdifbkehf  
> ~ con


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